


Brother's Intuition

by orphan_account



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Arguments, Brotherly Love, Bullies, Childhood Memories, Confrontations, Crying, Happy Ending, Hurt Ian Lightfoot, Hurt/Comfort, Hyperventilating, Magic, One Shot, Other, Scared Ian, Wise, Wise barley, and so is ian, barley is a good brother, end reveal, honestly i wrote this pretty late on my phone so, hopefully its not ooc, kinda sappy lol, laurel is a good mama, lying is bad, onward movie spoilers, ooc a bit at first, protective barley, takes place after movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:29:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23076301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The moment that Barley found out he was going to be a big brother was quite possibly the proudest and happiest moments of his entire life. Needless to say, Barley was protective of his little brother. So, when Ian begins to act suspicious there's cause for concern.Call it brother's intuition.Or maybe, Ian just wasn't a good liar.
Relationships: Barley Lightfoot & Ian Lightfoot, Ian Lightfoot & Laurel Lightfoot
Comments: 16
Kudos: 380





	Brother's Intuition

**Author's Note:**

> Onward was super cute so I decided to write a short one shot. I hope you all enjoy! Sorry about any OOCness  
> -
> 
> Onward and it’s characters belong to their rightful owners! I don’t own any thing, just a happy little fan writing a lil story

The moment that Barley found out he was going to be a big brother was quite possibly the proudest and happiest moments of his entire life. He remembered his mom telling him with a big smile on her face, “you’re going to be a big brother, Barley.” and then the words sank in slowly. Barley remembered suddenly shouting in excitement, jumping around and asking when he could meet his sibling. Since Ian couldn’t meet their father, Barley took it upon himself to be someone that Ian could look up to; he decided to teach Ian things he was forced to learn by himself and embraced the role of big brother best he could.

In the end, it made the two close. Barley was very protective of Ian, despite his carefree demeanor. He kept a close eye on Ian, grabbing at him to keep him from bodily harm and helped him with all his knowledge on magic to aid his little brother in his practices in the art of magic, which was honestly very cool. Perhaps the most terrifying moment of Barley’s life was when Ian was crossing the bottomless pit. His stomach had twisted, and dread dropped when he saw the rope untie from his brother’s skinny waist — so he continued to lie to Ian so he wouldn’t lose his confidence. He was so scared in that moment that he would lose the one thing he had worked so hard to protect.

So now, it was disconcerting to Barley that Ian — who was generally a stickler for the rules and always got home on time — had not returned from school yet. Barley was sure that school had ended at least a couple hours ago ago, yet still no sign of Ian. Barley didn’t understand why he wouldn’t be home right now. Especially not without calling first.

The sun had begun its downward trek, descending earthwards toward the horizon. Barley could hear his mother in the kitchen finishing up dinner, albeit clumsily as she was just as nervous as Barley. The young elf in question was vigorously tapping his foot against the floor as if all his anxiety had dropped to that one foot. His eyes kept darting to the door and then back at the book of “mystical magical mages”.

When the noise of the door opening reached his ears, he straightened and dropped his book. Relief flooded him in that instant as his little brother walked through the front door. It was almost as though Barley had been winded to see his brother return and physically intact. He stood and approached his brother, mouth opening to ask where he had been, but his mother beat him to it.

“Where have you been, Ian?!” She asked, exasperated. “I called the school and they said you’ve been gone since you got out! Do you know how _worried_ I was?”

Barley could hear it in her voice, the relief; but he could also hear the anger and confusion that was slowly taking over now that she was assured Ian was alright. Barley understood because he was slowly feeling that way too. Ian didn’t get a chance to reply as Laurel continued.

“I couldn’t bear if something happened to you! Not even a phone call! Not one! It’s been hours...and I know you are caught up in this magic and quests and all of that, but you know the rules, Ian. You’re still in high school and if you’re under this roof you _have_ to tell me where you are.”

“I’m sorry.”

Barley was used to Ian’s sheepish voice. But as of late, Ian had been confident and happy. With just those two words all the anger and relief Barley felt shattered. Ian sounded defeated, and Barley did not like that.

Laurel’s expression softened; she placed a hand on Ian’s despondent face.

“I love you too much to lose you, honey.”

“I love you too, mom. Sorry I didn’t call. I missed the bus after school and went for a walk. I lost track of time,” said Ian, eyes falling to the left.

Barley knew Ian had never been a good liar — or a liar at that — but the words that just came out of his mouth didn’t sound quite right. Call it brothers’ intuition.

“Okay...well, dinner’s ready. I figured we can have a nice meal together tonight?”

Ian’s eyebrows furrowed and looked towards the kitchen. “Oh...I actually have a lot of homework.”

Barley and Laurel glanced at each other uneasily as Ian walked away.

“I guess it’ll just be you and me,” Laurel said sadly.

“Perhaps I should go and talk to him!” Barley responded. “He may change his mind-”

“No, Barley. He needs his space right now...hopefully he’ll change his mind later.”

* * *

Ian didn’t change his mind later. In fact, the next couple of nights his attitude had progressively gotten worse. He has been late from school almost every day, but not as late as the other night. He claimed he missed the bus. Whenever Barley or Laurel asked what was causing him to miss the bus, he would make up some lame excuse. And then he took small portions of dinner to his room claiming he had “too much homework”. So now a week later when Ian returned home late, Barley came up with a solution.

He was waiting for Ian when he walked through the door, startling the young elf. Ian raised an eyebrow as he shut the door behind him.

“I have the key to help your tardiness!” Barley exclaimed. “I will pick you up from school, so you don’t have to worry about missing the bus!”

Barley didn’t usually pick Ian up from school because he had other things to do, he used to have a part-time job but he had been fired from that so he was job hunting currently, but he was willing to make a time sacrifice for Ian.

“O-oh, no you don’t have to do that,” Ian said.

“Nonsense! I would be happy to take you home in the sequel to my Guinevere!”

“No, Barley it’s not that...I don’t, I don’t want you too.”

Those words stung a little. Barley cleared his throat, maintaining a cheerful resolve. “Then will you assure you make it to the bus on time?”

“I can’t really-”

“Then I shall pick you up!”

“No!” Ian snapped.

Barley scowled and Ian blinked as if surprised by himself. The younger quickly recovered, eyes narrowed into a glare.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone? When you were in high school you were always coming home late.”

“ _I_ always told mom. And besides, I had very important things to do.”

“Yeah, important things like your card game,” Ian jabbed.

“What is your excuse?” Barley asked, getting angry.

“I...It’s none of your business! When did you start to not trust me?!”

“Since you started coming home late with lies about where you’ve been and why you were late! What is going on with you, Ian?!”

Ian’s eyes flashed betrayal. “I knew it. You never trust me! Not even when we tried to get dad back and I said we should go a different way!”

“Who ended up being right?!”

There was a pause, Ian looked like he was seething a little. He clenched his fist before inhaling and shouting. “I don’t need your help for everything, and I don’t _want_ a brother that will try to do everything for me!”

“Yes…well,” and what Barley was about to say was unjustified, uncharacteristic and unbrotherly (but he was hurt, and it was like he wasn’t in control of his tongue. “I don’t want a little brother who’s scared of everything, including telling his family where he’s been! Who is so selfish that he only cares about himself and not how his actions affect his family or the people around him!”

Laurel had just come home from getting groceries and was shocked to hear her sons bickering like this. It wasn’t often when they fought so intensely, but when they had arguments, they were not good. She rushed towards the front room, hoping to get there fast enough to mediate the situation.

“Well, I wish you weren’t my brother!” Ian cried and of course immediately regretting it after he said it.

Laurel froze as she stared at her two boys. The fury in Ian’s eyes was slowly subsiding as the words he had said finally sunk in. Barley was shocked as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“B-Barley I-”

“It’s fine,” Barley said. “just forget it.”

Ian watched his older brother walk to his room dejectedly. Tears brimmed his eyes as he realized just how awful a brother he really was. Barley was right, Ian _was_ selfish. Barley’s door closing shocked Ian back into reality. He glanced at his mom before running to his own room tears falling freely down his face which he promptly wiped away. Laurel was confused at the events that had just transpired. It wasn’t like either of them to say such hurtful things to each other and Laurel was becoming increasingly worried about her youngest son. 

Ian was acting so out of character. She didn’t know what to do with him, or how to handle him. Barley had always been rambunctious, often getting into trouble. When he was younger, they often got into arguments – which got better, after they began to understand each other. But Ian was always shy, scared of consequences and unwilling to get into any trouble. That had changed after his “big quest” with his brother. She was happy to see him progressing towards confidence and character growth, as all mothers would be, but this sudden change was perturbing. 

Laurel gingerly walked upstairs and approached Ian’s room, hesitantly raising her hand to knock. There was no response, so she cautiously twisted the doorknob and entered the room. It broke her heart to see Ian curled up on his bed, pathetic sniffles coming from his form every so often. 

“Ian…” She started. “…what is going on?”

If he had heard her, he made no effort to respond. Laurel approached his bed and sat down next to him. She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it comfortingly. 

“This isn’t like you. Keeping secrets…you’re scaring me, Ian. I haven’t seen you smile in so long.”

Ian held his breath for a moment before moving to sit up. “Mom, do you…do you think that I can’t do anything on my own?” 

“I don’t think that at all,” she answered, confused. “you and that smart brain of yours has never needed any help with homework, and you’ve got magic.”

At the word “magic” Ian grimaced. His shoulder slumped and he smiled half-heartedly at his mother. “Thanks. Um…I think I’m going to take a nap if that’s okay.”

“Oh, of course.” Laurel leaned over and pecked her son on the cheek. “Don’t forget to eat something later, okay?”

She wondered as she left the room if Ian was struggling with an insecurity issue. Having children when they were younger was difficult, but in a way, it was easy too. When they were upset you could hug them or appease them with something – not necessarily as easy when they were babies. But it was difficult now. They were older and struggling with things, they could choose to communicate or not communicate how they felt depending on how they think their feelings will be perceived. They are afraid of rejection if they open up and Laurel understood that because she was a teenager once before. It was a confusing time of life. 

Laurel could only hope that it was hormones and small insecurities and nothing more. But she couldn’t help but think the worst. What was it that could be causing so much aggression and isolation? She wanted to help her son, but how could she if he wasn’t allowing her, or if she didn’t know what was happening? Laurel sighed, weary from the entire situation and walked hastily to her other son’s bedroom. The moment she knocked the door opened. 

“Barley…” She started. “…He didn’t mean it.”

His expression was solemn as he nodded and embraced his mother. 

“I know…”

The next day, when Ian came home later than normal without calling _again_ , he was grounded. Barley heard it from his room, Ian pleading for their mother to reconsider. 

“Maybe if you just picked up your phone and _used it for once!_ I have no other options, Ian! I am at my wits end with you! There is going to be no more missing the bus, kapeesh? I am working, your brother is job hunting! If you miss it, _one_ more time I will ask Branco to pick you up and I’ll personally ask him to use the sirens _or_ you can ride on his back! The top of my head is turning grey!” 

* * *

Barley had a memory of when Ian was eight. Their mother was out for a quick run to the store and Barley had been tasked with watching Ian for a little bit. He had walked inside for a _second_ to get a glass of water when he heard Ian crying outside. When he rushed back out, there was blood gushing out of Ian’s nose and down his face. Ian was prone to nosebleeds, but it was the worst one that Barley remembered him having. 

Ian had been terrified that he was going to lose all his blood, and despite how Barley felt about the amount, he decided to keep his resolve and remember his determination. He wouldn’t be scared. He had promised himself to not be scared ever again after dad died and when he was brave it helped Ian as well. So, he was courageous in front of his brother even though he had no idea what he was doing. 

He had brought out towels and eventually, the nosebleed stopped. He had told Ian that he would protect him from anything, including any nosebleeds. He said he would scare them away. So presently, Barley really wished he could stay true to the words he had said then. He wished he could scare away whatever was happening to his brother. 

Since Ian had been grounded, he had been coming home on time, but he had been exhausted. Barley hadn’t seen much of his brother. Only when he walked through the door and went up to his bedroom. It saddened Barley to the greatest extend because he could _feel_ them becoming farther and farther apart with every day. They used to be so close. 

“Hey, Ian,” Barley said, opening his brother’s door. “have you seen my…”

He paused when he saw his brother at his desk with his mother’s foundation. He was applying it to a bruise on his jaw. Ian jumped and hid the makeup. “Uh-Barley what are you doing in here?” 

“Where did you get that?” 

“Get what?” 

Barley stepped forward, serious and not playing. “The bruise on your face, Ian. Who gave it to you?”

“Ohh, this?” He laughed. “Funny story! No one “gave it to me”. I fell when I was getting onto the bus. And I hit my face.”

“Why are you covering it up?”

“I don’t want to walk around with a big bruise on my face,” Ian said. 

Barley couldn’t remember when Ian had become such a good liar. But with Ian, he could always tell. It was like lying hurt him inwardly. Barley took a few more steps towards Ian and examined the bruise a little closer. He cleared his throat. 

“Yes, I can see little brother! Just a bruise from the bus! Do you require ice?”

“Oh, uh nope! No ice needed.”

Barley was going to go to his school and figure out what was happening. He knew that his mother wanted him to get a job, he knew everyone was so _busy,_ but this had gone past just coming home late. Barley was going to find out who was hurting his brother and why Ian wasn’t telling him. He was going to fix the awkwardness between the two from the words that had been said. Enough was enough. Barley was tired of not being the brother that he was supposed to be, and he had established this before: _he was not a screw-up_. He didn’t want his brother to think that either. 

* * *

Barley steadied his hands on the wheel of his van as he drove to the school, eyes focused on the road in front of him. He was so focused, in fact, that he almost went through a red light. He slammed on the breaks, cringing. _Whoops_. He couldn’t help but crack a little smile every time he saw the school, a large sense of pride flowing through him; his brother had managed to put back together that school with his magic. 

Barley pulled around to see if he could find his brother among the students that were exiting the school. Ian hadn’t shown up yet, but Barley was sure that if he just waited, he would find him. After the majority of students had left and Barley was the only one in the pickup spot, he decided to head around to the parking lot and actually get out. The buses had left, and Ian wasn’t there, Barley was sure of it. There _was_ something going on here and there was no way that Barley would leave without his brother or figuring out what was happening. 

After a while, Barley finally decided to call Ian. The same thing as always: voicemail. Straight to it, as if Ian’s phone had been off for the past two weeks or something. Barley got out of the van to see if he could find his brother since the sun was starting to set. He walked around the corners of the school, getting a gut feeling. He was glad he had listened to it. He heard voices and crept towards them, pulling out his phone to video just in case. He knew about needing evidence and all of that. When he turned the corner, his stomach dropped. He only got a few seconds on video before turning it off. 

Ian was pushed against a wall, struggling against a pair of arms holding him in place while another kid around his age threw a punch to his gut. Ian’s staff was discarded, skin had broken on his face, his lip was busted, and his nose was bleeding. 

“If you just let me _show_ you!” Ian cried, flinching when the bully's hand went up. “Magic isn’t a thing to be afraid of, i-it’s something that’s _good_!” 

“I’m not scared!”

Barley’s shock was quickly replaced with fury. He was trembling with rage. “ _Hey!_ ” 

All eyes from the side of the building flew towards Barley. The said elf took a step towards the small group of creatures.

“Looks like we really _were_ right, you can’t do anything without your brother,” one of them scoffed, seemingly unafraid of Barley.

Barely leaned down and grasped the staff before pointing it at the bullies. No, he couldn’t use magic, but they didn’t seem to know that. They released Ian, who slid down the wall and fell to the ground. Their faces contorted in nervousness. 

“Whoa man, j-just cool it-”

“Leave. _Now_ . Never come near my brother ever again, _got it_ ?” Barley growled. “ _Go_!”

And they scrambled away. Barley made sure they were out of sight before he dropped the staff and fell onto his knees next to Ian. His younger brother had covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking. 

“Ian…”

“Barley, I’m _such_ an idiot!” Ian sobbed, grasping his brother’s shirt tightly. “I c-c-can’t do anything r-right and…I-I…I am just worthless—”

“Hey, no, stop it, Ian, _breathe_ little guy,” Barley encouraged, concerned about how quickly Ian’s breathing was escalating into hyperventilating. “by no accounts are you worthless.”

Ian groaned, hands clutching his torso. Barley’s own hands hovered over his little brother’s body. He was a tad unsure about what to do in this situation. Ian wasn’t gaining any control over his breathing. His eyes were wide with fear, his hands were shaking terribly, and his chest rose and fell at a rapid pace. Barley thought fast, trying to think of ways to calm someone down in these situations. 

“Deep breaths. And breathe with me.” 

“I-I can’t—”

“Yes, you can. You can do it.” 

Ian’s eyes twitched as he focused on his brother’s breathing pattern. It didn’t take a short period of time. But when he finally was able to get his breathing under control, and the adrenaline faded, Ian realized how sore he was. He heaved deep, shallow breaths and leaned his head against the brick behind him. Barley helped Ian stand up without a word, grabbing the staff on his way back to the van. They climbed into the back. 

“Alright, little brother, tell me.”

Ian looked up at him. Barley hated how he looked right now, with his eyes red and puffy from crying, his face bruised and bloody from being beaten up. Ian sighed heavily.

“Most people took it well when traditional ways and magic was introduced back into our lives. Actually, a lot of people thrived on it. I got a lot of praise when I rebuilt the school using magic and it was a big boost to my self-esteem and a point to others for magic…but apparently some people want to continue to live mundane lives without how the rest of the world is adapting, which is frankly impossible and…well…they are upset,” Ian paused. “some of those people are at my school. And since I sorta started this whole thing and _you_ don’t go to my school…they are upset at _me_.” 

Barley wondered how he hadn’t seen it before. Ian was being bullied.

“It wasn’t anything too bad at first, they would just tease me a little and I ignored it. But it started to get more personal…um, one of the kids is a grade older and can drive so they don’t take the bus. The reason I missed the bus every week was an accident related to them. Sometimes they would jam my locker, other times they would just hold me up. That first night I was home even later because they had taken my phone and…well, it’s broken now. Then the accusations about magic started. I wanted to show them that magic is _good_ . Creatures are afraid of the unknown and they _were_. I was trying to show them there was nothing to be afraid of. I wanted to show them, but they wouldn’t listen, and it was frustrating.” 

Ian hesitated, looking like he wanted to continue. He shifted nervously. 

“The night we fought they told me I couldn’t do anything on my own. They told me I only relied on you for everything. _All_ my life.” Ian scowled as he looked up at Barley. “And it’s true, isn’t it? _Even_ with magic, I couldn’t have done it without you! _Nothing_ in my life I would have accomplished without your constant encouragement or prompting. What is it that I’ve done on my own? Not even homework, you always urged me to do it and I just have nothing…except for _lists_.” 

Ian’s voice cracked. Barley frowned and thought over his words carefully.

“Firstly, you may not want to hear this…but there will always be people that oppose your ideas. As hard as that is, you can’t force your opinion onto them. You can suggest it, but there’s not much more you can do. You will live your entire life that way, finding people who disagree with you, for valid reasons or just for the sake of it. You can’t control other people’s lives but your own,” Barley stated. 

Ian’s lower lip trembled; tears brimmed his eyes as he nodded. “I…I know.” 

“Second, you do accomplish a lot. Sometimes, you need someone in your life to encourage you to do things you would normally do. It doesn’t mean you’re not doing something on your own. And perhaps I helped you with the magic a little at the beginning, but only a little bit because I can’t even use it. The point is, you may have gotten help at the beginning, but you’ve gone past the point and you’re doing it on your own _now_. It just works that way. Do you think that you could learn something like math without any teachers or textbooks? Those things help, but once you get it you don’t need it anymore and you’re on your own.”

Barley moved closer to his brother, “Also, I am your older brother. Anyone can think what they want. You are supposed to rely on me for anything you need _all your life_.”

It was like a light switch was flicked on in Ian’s brain and he felt so stupid. “Barley…I’m so, so sorry.”

“Me as well, brother. I’ve long since forgiven you. Let it be in the past!” Barley said, wrapping his arms around his brother’s small form and pulling him into a gentle hug. “I must ask, why didn’t you tell anyone?” 

“Normally I would have said something; I didn’t tell you or mom because I…I was worried that someone would get hurt. At first, I tried to hide it a little bit so it wouldn’t turn into a big deal and then I just kept digging a bigger grave for myself. And you and mom are so busy with work and finding work...I don’t know, part of me wanted you to notice, maybe that’s why I was so angry. I don’t know, I really don’t. I could only focus on _one_ thing.” 

“I am sure that our mother won’t be very happy to hear about your broken phone, yet relieved to find you weren’t dodging her phone calls. You know lying has consequences, little brother. And it seems you’ve paid the price, so don’t do it anymore…do you think you require a hospital?” 

“No,” Ian winced when he sat up a little. “I think I just need to get mom to look at it.”

“Sounds perfect! Onwards to home!” Barley exclaimed, moving towards the driver’s seat. 

Ian followed, feeling a little hollow inside still. Not because of any injuries, but because of how he had behaved. He realized that he was being bullied, but the way he responded was not good. He said hurtful things to his brother, which despite being forgiven for he still felt guilty for. He had caused his mother and brother to worry about him alongside their stress of work. Barley spared a quick glance at Ian who was staring in front of him with a look of forlorn cast across his expression. Barley recognized that look; whenever Ian was picking apart any piece of himself, self-destructing or finding the worst of a scenario he would make that face. 

“Hey, I love you,” Barley said. “and so does mom. Worrying about you is a given, FYI.” 

“I love you too,” Ian said.

When they pulled up at their house, Laurel was waiting for them. She looked a little unpleased, but her disposition changed entirely at the sight of her youngest. She wrapped her arms around him in the gentlest way possible, hands shaking with worry. After the family went inside, Laurel looked over Ian to make sure he didn’t have any injuries or broken bones that needed professional medical attention, while Barley and Ian explained what happened. Laurel was so infuriated, she called Branco up to report the boys. And since Barley had video evidence it worked together. 

Ian apologized constantly. Both Barley and Laurel knew it wasn’t to lighten the grounding, but because he felt genuinely horrible for how he had behaved. A few weeks later when Ian found Barley at the countertop, sorting out a few cards. 

“Barley. Um, I was thinking about what I said a while ago. You know, when I said I wished you weren’t my brother…”

“And I have forgiven you,” Barley replied, eyes still on his cards.

“Yeah, but what I realized is…well, you protected me and saved me and you help me all the time. I could never wish for a _better brother_. And I just wanted to tell you that.” 

Barley’s eyes flicked up this brother’s, a smile spread across his face; he moved so quickly that it startled Ian, and he scooped the little elf into an almost bone-crushing hug. 

“’ Tis the same for I! And I will always protect my baby brother, baby brother!”

In the end, being a big brother held it’s challenges for Barley, and inevitably more in the future. But he would never give it up for anything, he would continue to live through the good and the bad and they would continue to thrive. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave a review and tell me how you liked it, agaiinnn sorry if the characters were OOC, and the story felt rushed but yikes :()


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